Bobbie Expounds on the Fairer Sex
by Clue Impaired
Summary: What Bobby told Jerry where no one else could see. See Karen and Jerry for the background and look for more instruction from Bobby and Alex to Jerry.


This should've been in the original story of Karen and Jerry, but I couldn't fit it in without turning it upside down, so here it is. If you can get through CH 3&4 I took my muse out to lunch on CH 5 and it gets better. Sorry for the lapse.

Disclaimer: OC's are mine, the rest belong to Dick Wolf.

**BOBBY EXPOUNDS ON THE FAIRER SEX**

Bobby had grown up with the less than idea family, he was the first to admit that. But his mother had loved him and whenever she was able to show it in a normal fashion, she had shown him how to treat a good person and a lady in particular. She was fond of telling him "Always treat a woman like a lady until she proves that she doesn't deserve it. Don't ever forget that, Bobby."

Bobby never forgot. His mother had been a wonderful woman, intelligent, cultured and full of the curiosity of a small child. He remembered sitting at her knee listening to her read him the classics for hours before he was old enough to read them for himself. Those times had diminished and finally halted altogether when she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. His bruised, lonely heart was able to recover some of those lost feelings when he had found that he could read those books himself. There was a woman at the Public Library where his mother had worked that felt sorry for Bobby and would check books out for him knowing he would be careful with them. He would take them home and hide them. He had a small rotating stash in a hole in his room away from Frank and his father. He only took those out to read when he was safely alone and his mother wasn't able to be with him.

As his mothers disease progressed and his father grew increasingly hostile and Frank had taken to tormenting Bobby whenever he could, Bobby reluctantly stopped checking out the books. It tore at his heart but he was worried that they would find them and be able to use this information against him. The stories remained in his memory and he retained his love of reading.

Reading and knowing how to treat a lady were strongly engrained in his early childhood memories. Therefore, in all his dealings with women over the years in the Army and later in the NYPD, he'd never failed to treat women with courtesy and respect. Now to see and hear Jerry treating his partner and Karen without respect, even belittling them, made him see red. Really, really red!

"Pull over." He told Alex darkly.

It was probably just as well that she was driving, because she had the presence to at least pull off into a parking lot. He would've stopped the vehicle in traffic and to hell with the consequences. He knew that she took her time finding a place to pull over but he wasn't going to let this go.

Jerry wasn't dumb. He recognized that he was in trouble. He threw up his hands and gave Bobby a sickly smile. "Now look, big guy. I'm sorry I…."

Bobby had ceased to listen. "Get out. Right now or I'll…." He had every intention of going into the vehicle after the younger man.

"Okay, okay. I'm getting out." Jerry hastily got out, supposedly out of reach.

"Bobby don't,….Bobby, he's just…" Alex had tried to talk to him. He didn't want to fight with her or make her upset so he closed the door to avoid that. Later, he'd be in trouble, but right now he had a few things to get straight with that _other man_.

Jerry was under the mistaken impression that Bobby couldn't reach him when he moved around to the other side of the vehicle. He could've gone across the surface of the moon and Bobby would've come after him. "Over there behind that building. You and I have a important meeting." Bobby told him, coldly.

Jerry was keeping an eye on him as he moved toward the building. It contained a concealed alley that Bobby had noticed before. It was perfect for what he had in mind. Jerry had no way of knowing exactly what was going on in Bobby's mind. He would've been running in the other direction if he'd known.

Bobby hated to be a bully, he'd been on the receiving end of it enough as a child, but he wouldn't let this situation continue and if he had to make his point with force than it wouldn't be the first time. He could've caught up to Jerry any time he wanted, but he wanted maximum time to let his anger cool. He was very aware of his size and the amount of power he possessed even without the adrenalin flowing through him.

Jerry stopped uncertainly when he saw the alley was small and ended at a brick wall. He started back toward freedom, but Bobby stood there looking like the angel of death or at the very least an extremely painful survival. He didn't appear to have cooled off at all. "I really didn't mean to insult Alex." Jerry said hastily.

Bobby scowled and moved closer. "You did. And you haven't shown one single instance of respect toward her or Karen since you walked into the office this morning. Is there some reason that you believe that I should let you out of here without finding out exactly how it feels to be treated like an object, or a piece of furniture, or less than human?"

"I never meant to make either of them feel like that. I thought that was how worked. The guys could talk man to man and the women could sympathize with the women. Women like to talk to each other. That's the way it is, man."

"Women talk to women? What made you think men only talk to the men? We're not talking about an old movie here. We're the police not a social club. We're talking about you undermining the respect that these women have worked damned hard to achieve. We're talking about the fact that you seem to be under the impression that women are looking to be "taken care of"."

Jerry shrugged uneasily. "Aren't they? I mean half of the population is women. They talk about husbands, babies, recipes, things like that. We could learn a lot about things from them."

Bobby stared at the man as though he were looking at a new species of bug. Could anybody be that clueless? It also occurred to him that Jerry was serious. He had no idea how demeaning his actions and his attitudes were to his companions. Bobby realized that Jerry's actions had been motivated not by animosity, but by sheer ignorance. He really was completely clueless. The big detective leaned back and crossed his arms, studying the younger man.

Jerry watched Bobby subtly shift his posture and wondered if he was still in danger of finding himself flat on his ass on the pavement. Bobby just continued to stare at him for so long it made him nervous. Was he contemplating more that just a single punch? Okay, he had been a little angry, but now he looked….thoughtful. After a few minutes, Jerry couldn't stand the suspense. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm trying to decide if you're as completely clueless as you seem."

"Clueless? Look, man, I'm not exactly….."

"That's just it, Jerry. You aren't exactly anything. You are rude and disrespectful to your partner and mine, you act like you have answers to questions we haven't even come up with and seem to believe you can do this job all by yourself. You have no idea where you are in this partnership or how to act with the other partners. Is there anything you can point to that says 'I should be included in this or am I just so much extra baggage'."

"I resent that. I…." Jerry stiffened and moved threateningly toward Bobby.

All relaxation disappeared from Bobbys stance and he looked more dangerous than Jerry would've though possible for a man who was rumored to deplore the use of sheer force. Using good sense for the first time that day, Jerry backed off a notch.

Bobby watched him impassively, but he could feel his anger still boiling underneath his control. It wouldn't take much for him to show Jerry just how it felt to be demeaned and disrespected in front of other people. He didn't want to do that. Not to be that kind of person, but damn it, he could and would if he had to.

It occurred to Bobby he could do what he did best. He began to talk, quietly, sincerely, one intelligent person to another. "I have not always gotten along with my partners. Everyone who knows me knows I'm an acquired taste. I'm not easy to get along with, and I scare a lot of people, but I can tell you one thing, I've never treated a single partner of mine with less than the utmost respect. If they can't get along with me, I understand that, but they were people and they had to do and be what they needed to be.

Alex was the first female partner I had and I didn't think she would last long, but she refused to give up on me and she was the best partner I could ever have for six years before I could admit to myself that what we had was more than a partnership. That I had fallen in love with her. This was not something the department wanted to accept. We worked damned hard so we could stay together as partners without the department splitting us up. And the only way we've done that is to continue to be effective at our jobs. To do that we have to work without egos or gender bias. She's a better shot than I am and she's a lot tougher than she looks. Those are not the kinds of people who will calmly accept you ideas of the role of a meek woman. Are they?"

"No. I've never heard anyone say that about a woman before." Jerry admitted.

Bobby nodded. "I was raised to treat a woman like a lady until you figure out she is or isn't one. But being a lady doesn't necessarily mean she can't be a cop, a tough one. But you always treat her like a lady. Especially when she has a gun and an attitude. You know yourself how hard it is to get this badge. They don't come easy. Give your partner the respect they deserve, no matter what the gender."

"I never meant any kind of disrespect to either her or Alex. I just was doing what I thought was standard procedure."

"Try looking at the women you see in the squad room and in the uniform divisions. You will find they are some of the toughest women around. Alex stands head and shoulders above them. I think Karen is the same way if you're man enough to be her partner. Don't pull that macho crap. Don't try to be the head of the team all the time because you're a man. Be Part Of The Team because that's what's best for the team."

"I think it'll take me some time to change how I learned to do things." Jerry nodded, clearly trying to absorb the lesson Bobby was trying to teach him. "I'll have to follow your lead, big guy."

Bobby nodded. Jerry wasn't a bad guy. He'd learned to read people well and he'd liked the man from the first time he'd met him. And he did remind him of a certain other detective who'd fallen in love with his partner. He hoped they'd be back from their honeymoon soon.

"We probably should get back to the girls….uh, women, um partners now hadn't we?" Jerry asked, relieved to be all in one piece.

"They'll be relieved that we don't have to explain you being in the hospital to the captain." Bobby agreed.

"Does this mean that you aren't going to hit me?" Jerry asked nervously as they walked back toward the SUV.

Bobby glanced over at him. "Not today. But don't push it."

Jerry made a vow then and there not to "push it."


End file.
